StatiCAD carries out the whole chain for cold-formed steel buildings, from seismic analysis and panel shear capacity through stud buckling and wind checks to anchorage, connection and foundation design, according to TBDY 2018 Chapter 10 and the Turkish Design Principles for Cold-Formed (Light) Steel Buildings (HCBTİE).
The full chain for a cold-formed steel building
In cold-formed steel buildings, the structural system is built from panels made of thin-sheet cold-formed C or Sigma studs and the OSB, plywood or gypsum board sheathing that covers them. The panels carry horizontal loads through the shear strength of the sheathing, while the studs transfer vertical loads and overturning forces.
In thin-walled sections, buckling usually governs strength: local buckling of webs and flanges, distortional buckling in which the flange and lip rotate together, and global buckling of the whole member. HCBTİE calculates these sections by the effective width method; TBDY 2018 Chapter 10 defines the seismic analysis of cold-formed steel buildings, panel shear capacities and anchorage rules.
StatiCAD combines these two codes in a single workflow: the model is analyzed, panel and stud demands are derived, buckling and wind checks are performed, anchors and foundations are designed by the code rules, and the results are reported in Turkish or English.
The design chain of a cold-formed steel building, from seismic analysis to the foundation.
The Cold-Formed Steel Member Reports group contains:
Section properties have been compared with the manufacturer’s values for all 527 predefined profiles; torsional quantities have been verified against closed-form solutions and an independent application.
The strength chain has been compared line by line with the code equations, and demand derivation (axial force and wind, LRFD and ASD) with hand calculations; the entire flow, from settings to report, has been run end to end on example projects.
Seismic analysis, panel shear capacity, anchorage and foundation rules follow TBDY 2018 Chapter 10; the section strengths of studs, beams and columns are calculated according to the Turkish Design Principles for Cold-Formed (Light) Steel Buildings (HCBTİE). Wind pressure is entered according to TS 498.
The 527 predefined cold-formed steel sections can be used: C, Z, U, C+, Sigma and Sigma+ sections, in a height range of 100–400 mm and a wall thickness range of 1.0–4.0 mm. C, C+, Sigma and Sigma+ sections are offered for panel studs. You can also add your own sections using the same table layout.
Distortional buckling is calculated by the HCBTİE 4.10.3.3 general method; the finite strip solution is the default for C+ sections and can be used for all sections if desired. If sheathing data has been entered, the rotational restraint that the board provides to the stud flange is also taken into account.
According to TBDY 10.2.7.2, gypsum board panels cannot resist the seismic demand alone. For each storey and direction, the program calculates the gypsum board’s share of the panel shear strength and compares it with the limit in TBDY Table 10.3; it issues a warning if the limit is exceeded.
Cold-formed steel calculations are available in StatiCAD Ultimate. You can try the workflow with the free demo version.
Download the demo version and try panel, stud and anchorage design on your own project for free, or let us help you choose the right edition.